About JMC

Our Roots (The Ignatian World-View)

Our commitment to education is rooted in the spirit and method of the Ignatian Pedagogy which embodies the principles of order, sequence, individualization and personalization of instruction – alum norum cura personalis. This heritage stresses the development of excellence in the whole person; moral, spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional and aesthetics. Today, our educational apostolate is strengthened by our affiliation with the local, national and international networks of Jesuit secondary schools. Based on a legacy which began with the Spiritual Exercise of St.Ignatius and continues through contemporary Ignatian reflections, our Jesuit tradition has fashioned schools to be community of faith, scholarship and service.

We area community of scholarship.

At the heart of Jesuit education is the rigorous study of the humanities and sciences, reflecting the conviction that the study of great ideas is inextricably linked to the formation of character. Our program of study encompasses more than the acquisition of knowledge; it fosters academic discipline and encourages reflection in the pursuit of excellence.

We are a community of faith.

Rooted in the Catholic tradition, we look to Jesus Christ as the revelation of God. We seek to foster knowledge and love of God and neighbour, and welcome the gifts that non-Catholic members of our community contribute to that mission.

We are a community of service.

St Ignatius’s declaration that “love ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than words” is embodied today in the call to be a person for others. We put our faith into action by seeking opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters – especially those in need – by working to promote justice. In praying and working together, our communal life is animated by the spirit of the Magis (greater) and Cura Personalis (the care of the individual or person)

Magis

A distinctive aspect of Jesuit education, expresses the responsibility to seek a greater realization of our potential and to strive for excellence in all things. At Jesuit Memorial College, we are dedicated to the development of the curriculum and community that call forth the best from students, faculty and staff for the greater glory of God

Cura Personalis

It is the Jesuit resolve to know and treat each person as an individual made in the

image and likeness of God. It encourages students, faculty and staff to build relationship, both in and out of the classroom, based on dignity, respect, and trust. Ideally, Jesuit Memorial College should be a place where people are believed, honoured and cared for; where the natural talents and creative abilities of persons are recognized and celebrated; where individual contributions and accomplishments are appreciated; where everyone is treated fairly and justly; where sacrifice on behalf of the economically poor, the socially deprived, and the educationally disadvantaged are commonplace; where each person finds the challenge, encouragement and support he/she needs to reach the fullest individual potential for excellence; where members of the community help one another and work together with enthusiasm and generosity. Cura 6 personalis, the Latin expression which literally translates into English as the care of the person, forms the hallmark of Jesuit education.

HOPE REBORN: A BRIEF HIST ORY OF THE JESUIT MEMORIAL COLLEGE

Jesuit Memorial College (JMC), aptly articulated in the metaphor of the Phoenix, the symbol of the school and expressed in its motto, “Hope Reborn,” is a full boarding co-educational school, rising out of the ashes of the tragic Sosoliso plane crash of 10th December 2005. Among the passengers on that flight were sixty-one students from Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja. Sixty of them passed on tragically that day. This was a tragedy of epic proportion. Fifty-four families lost their children; one family lost three children, while seven families lost two children each. As a way of sharing/assuaging our pain and to immortalize our “Sixty Angels,” the then Executive Governor of Rivers State, Chief (Dr) Peter Odili, graciously acquiesced to the request of the Port Harcourt parents to give seed money and land to the Jesuits to begin a new Jesuit secondary school in Port Harcourt so that out of the ashes of their children, new shoots might blossom. The Jesuits of the North-West African Province of the Society of Jesus frontally and bravely took on this challenge! The first phase of the project has been completed on the section of the twenty-one hectares of land provided by the Greater Port Harcourt City Development and approved by the former Executive Governor of River State, Honourable Chief Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. The pioneer class was admitted in October 2013. As part of the world-wide Jesuit network of schools, the JMC aims not only at providing quality education to talented young boys and girls of differing religious persuasions, but also aims to set an enviable standard of academic excellence in Nigeria and in Africa. The vision is to build a centre of excellence where the panoply of educational services is designed to encourage intellectual creativity and promote character. The vision is rooted in the spirit and method of the Ignatian Pedagogy which embodies the principles of order, sequence, individualization and personalization of instruction – alum norum cura personalis. At the completion of six years of formation and training, our students are expected to be young men and women who are conscientious, persons of interior life who diligently search for meaning and the transcendence; who are competent, towards a new understanding of learning as key to human development; constantly acting as a way of service to God and others – a current understanding of domestic life and ecological commitment and action. The idea is not simply to immortalize our “Sixty Angels” in marble and granite, but to honour them in the living memorial of other children who will live out the vision/mission embodied by them. This, no doubt, will provide an on-going healing for the bereaved families. The central focus of JMC is the memorial monument to the Sixty Angels who died in that infamous Sosoliso plane crash of 10th December 2005. The school will exist to keep their spirits alive and to allow them to reach out and touch generations of people yet unborn. The school is open to children from across the country, and will admit children of all faiths, including Muslim children. The call is to realize that these children did not die in vain. Graduates of this college, having been transformed, will in turn become agents of transformation in all Nigeria and Africa so that a better world will be born. Then truly hope will be reborn.

Sensitivity to and appreciation of the broad range of intellectual fields.

Desire to pursue higher education.

C. Personal Attributes and Attitudes

Reverence for God and a sense of the sacred.

Sense of purpose: desire to develop personal potential.

Leadership, cooperation, responsibility, accountability.

Loyalty to family, friends, school and homeland.

Sensitivity to the differences and needs of others.

Good manners.

Good sportsmanship in all forms of competition.

Respect for the natural world.

Respect for school and home community.

Understanding of the democratic system.

Our aims and objectives are embedded in our vision to:

Enable youths to develop their individual talents to the full and become well rounded persons.

Implement, in creative-fidelity and devotion, the Nigerian National Policy on Education (NPE).

Train youths to become leaders on the national and international scenes, by attending to moral integrity, commitment to justice and becoming “men and women for others”, growth in responsible use of freedom, applying ethical approaches to institutions, becoming advocates for peace and environmental justice.

Provide an opportunity for boys and girls of different race, creed, tongue, and class to develop into a united community.

Foster a community of shared vision among the members of the Jesuit Memorial College community (management, staff, students, parents, and friends of JMC).

Help Catholic students to personally appropriate the spirit of their faith and to develop a personal relationship with Christ and his Church.

Promote value-oriented education by creating an atmosphere of love, acceptance, self-sacrifice and discipline.